The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
marine fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in 12
genera are found mostly on the
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
s of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
,
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, and
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
s. A number of
species pair
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
s occur in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, members of the huge genus ''
Chaetodon''.
Butterflyfish look like smaller versions of angelfish (
Pomacanthidae
Marine angelfish are perciform fish of the family Pomacanthidae. They are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Oceans. The family contains seven genera and about 86 species. They should not be conf ...
), but unlike these, lack
preopercle
The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish and chimaeras that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding.
Anatomy
The opercular series contains four bon ...
spines at the
gill cover
The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish and chimaeras that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding.
Anatomy
The opercular series contains four bon ...
s. Some members of the genus ''
Heniochus
''Heniochus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, butterflyfishes from the family Chaetodontidae. They are native to the Indo-Pacific. Though very similar in appearance to the Moorish idol ''( Zanclus cornutus)'', the members of this genus ar ...
'' resemble the
Moorish idol
The Moorish idol (''Zanclus cornutus'') is a marine fish species, the sole extant representative of the family Zanclidae (from the Greek ζαγκίος, ''zagkios'', "oblique") in order Acanthuriformes. A common inhabitant of tropical to subtr ...
(''Zanclus cornutus'') of the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
Zanclidae. Among the
paraphyletic Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
, the former are probably not too distantly related to butterflyfish, whereas the Zanclidae seem far less close.
Description and ecology
Butterflyfish mostly range from in length. The largest species, the
lined butterflyfish
The lined butterflyfish (''Chaetodon lineolatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish. a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, one of the largest species in the genus ''Chaetodon''. It has a wide range from the Red Sea to Sou ...
and the
saddle butterflyfish
The saddle butterflyfish (''Chaetodon ephippium'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from Sri Lanka and the Cocos-Keeling Islands to the ...
, ''C. ephippium'', grow to . The common name references the brightly coloured and strikingly patterned bodies of many species, bearing shades of black, white, blue, red, orange, and yellow. Other species are dull in colour. Butterflyfish are a boundless, different group of marine perciods with delegates on practically all coral reef frameworks and in every single tropical ocean. Their bright and color patterns have drawn in much consideration, creating an abundance of data about their conduct and environment. Many have
eyespots on their flanks and dark bands across their eyes, not unlike the patterns seen on
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...
wings.
[
] Their deep,
lateral
Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
Healthcare
*Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction
* Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle
* Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap
Phonetics
*Lateral co ...
ly narrow bodies are easily noticed through the profusion of reef life. The conspicuous coloration of butterflyfish may be intended for interspecies communication. Butterflyfish have uninterrupted
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
s with
tail fins that may be rounded or truncated, but are never forked.
Generally
diurnal and frequenting waters less than deep (though some species descend to , butterflyfish stick to particular home ranges. These
corallivore
A corallivore is an animal that feeds on coral. Corallivores are an important group of reef organism because they can influence coral abundance, distribution, and community structure. Corallivores feed on coral using a variety of unique adaptati ...
s are especially territorial, forming pairs and staking claim to a specific coral head. Contrastingly, the
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
feeders form large conspecific groups. By night, butterflyfish hide in reef crevices and exhibit markedly different coloration.
Their coloration also makes them popular
aquarium fish. However, most species feed on
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
polyps and
sea anemones. Balancing the relative populations of prey and predator is complex, leading hobby aquarists to focus on the few generalists and specialist
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
feeders.
Butterflyfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many buoyant eggs into the water, which become part of the
plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...
, floating with the currents until hatching. The fry go through a tholichthys stage, wherein the body of the post
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
...
l fish is covered in large, bony plates extending from the head. They lose their bony plates as they mature.
Only one other family of fish, the scats (
Scatophagidae
Scatophagidae, the scats are a small family of ray-finned fishes in the order Perciformes. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region but one species has been introduced elsewhere.
Taxonomy
Scatophagidae was first formally described as a family ...
) express such an armored stage.
Taxonomy, systematics and evolution
The Chaetodontidae can be, but are not usually, divided into two lineages that arguably are
subfamilies. The subfamily name Chaetodontinae is a little-used leftover from the period when the
Pomacanthidae
Marine angelfish are perciform fish of the family Pomacanthidae. They are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Oceans. The family contains seven genera and about 86 species. They should not be conf ...
and Chaetodontidae were united under the latter name as a single family. Hence, Chaetodontinae is today considered a
junior synonym of Chaetodontidae. In any case, one lineage of Chaetodontidae (in the modern sense) contains the "typical" butterflyfish around ''Chaetodon'', while the other unites the bannerfish and coralfish
genera. As the
Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
are highly
paraphyletic, the precise relationships of the Chaetodontidae as a whole are badly resolved.
[Fessler & Westneat (2007)]
Chaetodontidae is classified within the
suborder Percoidei
Percoidei is one of 3 suborders of bony fishes in the order Perciformes. Many commercially harvested fish species are considered to be contained in this suborder, including the snappers, groupers, basses, goatfishes and perches.
Divisions
The ...
by the 5th edition of ''
Fishes of the World'', but they are placed in an unnamed
clade which sits outside the
superfamily Percoidea
Percoidea is a superfamily of fish of the order Perciformes. The superfamily includes about 3,374 species.
Classification
The Percoidesa are classified in the 5th Edition of the ''Fishes of the World'' as follows:
* Percoidea
* ...
. This clade contains 7 families which appear to have some relationship to
Acanthuroidei,
Monodactylidae, and
Priacanthidae
The Priacanthidae, the bigeyes, are a family of 18 species of marine ray-finned fishes. " Catalufa" is an alternate common name for some members of the Priacanthidae. The etymology of the scientific name (, to bite + , thorn) refers to the fam ...
.
Other authorities have paced the family in the order
Chaetodontiformes alongside the family
Leiognathidae
Leiognathidae, the ponyfishes, slipmouths or slimys / slimies, are a small family of fishes in the order Perciformes. They inhabit marine and brackish waters in the Indian and West Pacific Oceans. They can be used in the preparation of ''bagoong' ...
.
Before DNA sequencing, the
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
was confused about whether to treat these as species or
subspecies. Also, numerous
subgenera have been proposed for splitting out of ''Chaetodon'', and it is becoming clear how to subdivide the genus if that is desired.
The
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
record of this group is marginal. Their restriction to
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s means their carcasses are liable to be dispersed by
scavengers, overgrown by
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
s, and any that do fossilize will not long survive
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...
. However, ''
Pygaeus'', a very
basal fossil from the mid- to late
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, dates from around the
Bartonian
The Bartonian is, in the ICS's geologic time scale, a stage or age in the middle Eocene Epoch or Series. The Bartonian Age spans the time between . It is preceded by the Lutetian and is followed by the Priabonian Age.
Stratigraphic defini ...
40–37 million years ago (Mya). Thus, the Chaetodontidae emerged probably in the early to mid-Eocene. A crude
molecular clock
The molecular clock is a figurative term for a technique that uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged. The biomolecular data used for such calculations are usually nucleo ...
in combination with the evidence given by ''Pygaeus'' allows placement of the initial split between the two main lineages to the middle to late Eocene, and together with the few other fossils, it allows the deduction that most living genera were probably distinct by the end of the
Paleogene 23 Mya.
Genera
The bannerfish-coralfish lineage can be further divided in two groups; these might be considered
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
s, but have not been formally named. Genera are listed in order of the presumed
phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...
, from the most ancient to the youngest:
Bannerfish/coralfish lineage 1:
* ''
Amphichaetodon''
Burgess, 1978
* ''
Coradion''
Kaup, 1860
* ''
Chelmon
''Chelmon'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish in the family Chaetodontidae, the butterflyfishes. They are tropical species native to the western Pacific Ocean.
Species
There are currently three recognized species in this genus:
* '' Chelmon ...
''
Cloquet, 1817
* ''
Chelmonops''
Bleeker, 1876
Bannerfish/coralfish lineage 2:
* ''
Forcipiger''
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
& McGregor
McGregor may refer to:
People
* McGregor (surname)
* Clan MacGregor, a Scottish highland clan
* McGregor W. Scott (born 1962), U.S. attorney
Characters
* Mr. McGregor, a fictional character from Peter Rabbit
Places
in Canada:
* McGregor Lake ...
, 1898
* ''
Hemitaurichthys''
Bleeker, 1876
* ''
Heniochus
''Heniochus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, butterflyfishes from the family Chaetodontidae. They are native to the Indo-Pacific. Though very similar in appearance to the Moorish idol ''( Zanclus cornutus)'', the members of this genus ar ...
''
Cuvier, 1816
* ''
Johnrandallia''
Nalbant, 1974
The "typical" butterflyfishes may eventually come to contain more genera; see ''
Chaetodon'':
* ''
Chaetodon''
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758
* ''
Parachaetodon''
Bleeker, 1874
* ''
Prognathodes
''Prognathodes'' is a genus of butterflyfish in the family Chaetodontidae. They are found at rocky reefs in tropical oceans around the world and are mainly found deeper than ''Chaetodon''; often a depths below those possible in normal scuba divi ...
''
Gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
, 1862
* ''
Roa''
Jordan, 1923
Timeline
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id:CAR value:claret
id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)
id:HER value:teal
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id:black value:black
id:white value:white
id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32)
id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37)
id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42)
id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48)
id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1)
id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0)
id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68)
id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5)
id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68)
id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88)
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bar:NAM2
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shift:(7,-4)
bar:periodtop
from: -66 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligocene
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist.
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H.
bar:eratop
from: -66 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text: Paleogene
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text: Neogene
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.
PlotData=
align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:oligocene bar:NAM1 from: -28.4 till: 0 text: Chaetodon
color:miocene bar:NAM2 from: -23.03 till: 0 text: Chelmon
''Chelmon'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish in the family Chaetodontidae, the butterflyfishes. They are tropical species native to the western Pacific Ocean.
Species
There are currently three recognized species in this genus:
* '' Chelmon ...
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
bar:period
from: -66 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligocene
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist.
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H.
bar:era
from: -66 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text: Paleogene
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text: Neogene
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.
Gallery
Image:Seattle Aquarium, 1.JPG, Copperband butterflyfish, ''Chelmon rostratus''
Image:Johnrandallia nigrirostris.jpg, The enigmatic '' Johnrandallia nigrirostris''
Image:Chaetodon kleinii.jpg, Sunburst butterflyfish, (sometimes placed in ''Lepidochaetodon'')
Image:Bep chaetodon bennetti.jpg, Bluelashed butterflyfish, ''Chaetodon bennetti (sometimes placed in ''Megaprotodon'')
Further reading
* Pratchett, Morgan S. & Berumen, Michael L. & Kapoor, B.G.
ditors: ''Biology of Butterflyfishes.'' CRC Press, 2014.
References
;General
* (2007): Molecular phylogenetics of the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae): Taxonomy and biogeography of a global coral reef fish family. ''
Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 45(1): 50–68.
(HTML abstract)
*
008br>
Family Chaetodontidae – Butterflyfishes Retrieved 2008-SEP-02.
* (2007): Molecular phylogeny of ''Chaetodon'' (Teleostei: Chaetodontidae) in the Indo-West Pacific: evolution in geminate species pairs and species groups. ''Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement'' 14: 77–86
PDF fulltext* (2002):
'Chaetodon'' ''In:'' A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' 364: 560
HTML database excerpt
;Specific
{{Taxonbar, from=Q271004
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Extant Maastrichtian first appearances
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque